The Third Piece
by Roowbin
Summary: An Elfin girl living in Faron Woods has her life drastically change when she discovers the demon camp. During her stay her true powers become clear, and through trial and trauma, she will have to make a decision that will impact the fate of the world.
1. The Demon Camp

She looked down at the honey comb that she just collected, and smiled. Honey would taste great with the new sweet she was trying to create. She put it in her bag, and then began to wring out her long mahogany hair. In order to collect the honey she had to dive in a small pond to avoid the dozens of bee stings she would've gotten. It was worth it though. If Lawnia had one true passion in life, it was cooking. She loved creating new and interesting dishes, to her it was fascinating.

She turned, happy with what she had collected for the day, and started back to the village. She was a 16 year old elfin girl, who lived in a small village in faron woods. She was tall, with tan skin, exceptionally pointed ears, and brilliant wide green eyes. She wore a simple brown dress that tied in the center with plain brown strap. She was barefoot, not needing shoes in the soft green grass. However, she was terribly shy. When she was out in the woods, she felt alive, confident. Around other people, however, she was silent. Her older brother constantly teased her about it, and even though she felt anger towards him, she never acted on it.

She sighed heavily, thinking of her brother, when she heard a strange sound. It was… laughter? It sounded hoarse and dry, very peculiar. No one else that she knew of went this far out into the woods. Curiosity getting the better of her, she slowly walked towards the sound. She moved away some branches of a bush, and peeked out. Her eyes widened, she gasped and collapsed to the ground in shock. It was a… demon. She started shivering in fear, and she slowly made her way the opposite direction, when a memory flashed in her mind. It was her brother, constantly teasing her about how she would never do anything courageous in her life. Even though her little sister tried to comfort her whenever this happened, it was something he had always said. She took a deep breath, then turned around.

When she peeked through the bushes again, she saw the camp. It was just outside the sealed grounds, the camp even making its way down into it! There were multiple huts, a few demons casually walking around. She also saw watchtowers, and made a mental note to watch out for those. She focused her attention on the demons in front of her, and listened in.

After listening in for a minute, she realized they weren't talking about anything important. Her eyes wandered and she saw much larger demons gathered a few feet away, arguing. They looked important, she thought, and began carefully making her way over. Still hidden by the bushes, she strained her ears for what they were arguing about. She couldn't hear them well enough. She looked around, and spotted another large bush a few feet away, closer to the arguing demons. Looking quickly around her, she summoned her fragment of courage and sneaked over to the bush. When her heart stopped pounding she realized she could hear them, and listened in.

They were talking about battle plans. While most of the war words were foreign to her, she tried to retain as much information to later tell her village. So far she picked up rummage…arrows…

"HEY!" she whipped her head around, and saw a demon staring at her, pulling out his horn. She had been so focused on listening to the conversation she had forgotten to watch her back! He blew the warning signal on the horn, and without a second thought she ran.


	2. The Pursuit

She had never been more scared in her life. Her feet pounded on the ground, trying to get as much distance between her and the ugly red demon that had spotted her. By now other demons had heard the horn, and she felt as if a whole army was pursuing her. Her heart was rapidly pulsating in her chest. As she reentered the forest, she sprinted between trees trying desperately to divert the demon mob. However, she wasn't very fast. She didn't have to look back to know that they were quickly gaining on her. Then, she heard a whoosh, and an arrow embedded itself into the tree she had just sprinted past. Great, now she was getting shot at? She began to serpentine, but, realizing that made her slower, she ran normal again. Which was worst, an arrow or an angry demon? Then, she heard another whoosh, and pain exploded in her leg.

She crumpled to the ground, moaning in agony as she clutched her bloody calf. Her vision blurred, but she could still make out the shapes of the demons starting to encircle her. She didn't care, for all she cared about was her calf. It felt as if her leg was being torn in half by a hundred angry wasps! Vaguely, she noticed one pair of legs stepping closer, looming over her.

"Who are you?" he demanded. She could only groan in response. Slowly, the tall heavy demon bent down, grabbed her hair, and yanked her up. She gasped in pain, being forced to look at him. He was an ugly demon, pudgy yet tall. His features were round, and he had many blemishes in his bright red skin. His greasy black hair fell into his dark eyes, which revealed no mercy. She shivered under his gaze.

"Who are you? I will not ask again." His voice was full of authority.

"La-Lahnia" she sputtered, terrified. He tossed her to the ground and looked down on her.

"Why were you spying on our camp?" he growled, anger building.

"I-I wasn't! I was just out collecting honeycomb, and I stumbled upon your camp…" her last few words were mumbled, and she looked away.

"You lie" he hissed, and took a step towards her. She raised her arm to protect herself from what he would do, and shut her eyes.

"Halt Bruzar! You know the rules. Any prisoner's fate should be decided by the lord." She slowly lowered her arm to see yet another demon walking up behind Bruzar, as Bruzar turned to glare at him. He looked as if he was about to start arguing but the other demon just raised his hand in defense.

"You know I'm right. I will take her to the lord." There was a pause, until Bruzar gruffly stated:

"She's a liar." Then he turned and walked off. The demon that had stopped him turned to her. He was a tall and muscular green demon, nothing like the stout pudgy one that had spotted her. His eyes were pitch-black and showed no emotion. His black hair was well kept, unlike that of Bruzar's. His features were sharp and broad, and he looked her up and down before saying:

"Follow me." Lahnia looked around, still surround by a ring of demons; no way would she be able to escape. As she tried to get up, she hissed in pain as her bloody calf protested under the weight. In the heat of the conversation, she was too scared to remember her injured leg.

"I… cannot walk." She stated quietly, not wanting to upset the demon. He looked down at her, contemplating. Eventually, he sighed and bent down. He grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her onto his shoulder; a gasp of pain escaped her lips as her leg was swung. She was humiliated that she could not walk, even among enemies. She remained silent as she was carried through the camp, and down onto the slopes of the sealed grounds. Suddenly they stopped, and he hoisted her down onto the ground. They were in front of an extremely lavish building, the only non-tent in the camp. It was small, but made of large pieces of grey stone that looked hastily put together, but still the best of the camp.

"Stay here." The demon that carried her walked through the large wooden door that was on the building. She grunted. She couldn't try to escape if she wanted to, there was no way she was going anywhere with her leg in such a bad condition. She looked around her. Tents were on all sides of the sloped wall, and there were many demons freely walking around, casually chatting amongst each other. There were small fires around about every five tents, and as a result, smoke loomed in the air. As two demons walked past her they looked at her curiously, but continued on. Lahnia sighed and rested her head on the dirt wall behind her, gazing up at the bright blue sky. _What have I gotten myself into? _After a few minutes, the green demon came back out and picked her up again. She said nothing as they went through the doors. Her heart pounded, she was so nervous for meeting the demon that would soon decide her fate. An eerie voice sounded from within.

"Why, hello…" Lahnia gulped.


	3. The Meeting

**A/N Ok, so I know I didn't have an author's note for the first two chapters, I didn't know how to add them in. I'm new to this; in fact this is my first fan fiction. So thank you so much increak96 and whisperinmyear23 for putting up with me and explaining how to add them in! =D**

**So the summary for this story… This is mostly about my OC, Lahnia. She is captured by the demon tribe, where she learns more about herself and what she can do, but we'll get to that later ;) It's mostly action, maybe a little romance, but not very much. Ghirahim will be a reoccurring character, some Link appearance, and minuet Zelda appearance. I mostly use the setting and some of the storyline in this. Oh, but trust me, I have BIG plans for this story. (Evil laugh inside my head). Oh, and it starts off sort of slow, but it needs the background info. And my chapters are really short. Sorry! =s**

**I'd like to thank Princess Aleada for commenting, thanks! I will. =D I would also like to thank sapphireredverne, mangaanimefan4eva, and whisperinmyear23 for favoriting me. **

**I don't own Legend of Zelda.**

"Why, hello…" Lahnia shuddered at the voice, her head swerving trying to find the owner. The guard had left the room, the door banging loudly behind him. She was in a seemingly empty room, with a tall ceiling and large stone pillars ominously looming around her. There was a long wooden table in the middle, with at least twenty empty chairs uniformly set around it. The room was cold and musty, with the only light coming from four torches hung on the pillars. Without the ability to stand from her wounded leg, she awkwardly sat on the floor, weak and defenseless.

"Where…are you?" her voice cracked from the fear. She couldn't see the edges of the room, so her eyes were desperately searching the shadows to find the voice.

"Hmm…let me make myself clear, I will be asking the questions, and you will only answer, understood?" Lahnia jumped, whipping her head behind her. She hadn't heard him come up behind her, how did he do that?

"Understood?" the man's voice was edged with annoyance, not liking the pause in her response. She vigorously nodded her head. As the man walked in front of her, she noticed he was…different. Unlike all the other demons skins being a multitude of vibrant colors, his skin was a dull grey. His clothing was skintight and had diamonds cut out to expose his colorless skin. There was a bright yellow sash that hugged his hip with a blood red ruby diamond adorned on it. He had a velvet red cape that was cut in long strands, which Lahnia thought was honestly, impractical. His hair was snow white that had bangs that stiffly fell over one eye, and a pointed ear with a diamond earring. Lahnia was slightly disturbed that he didn't have another pointed ear, as it was unsymmetrical. He was so strange in appearance, the only thing Lahnia could find that was the same as a regular demon was his merciless onyx eyes, which he continued to be different by outlining them with makeup. While she thought his appearance was rather odd and impractical, she feared him nonetheless. His aura was cold and devious.

"So… Konan says you were caught spying on our camp, is that true?"

"No! I... I wasn't spying.." she squeaked, fear choking her voice.

"If you are lying, trust me, I will not hesitate to end your life." His voice was calm, and definite. She knew he meant it.

"Um… I guess I was sorta spying, but I didn't mean to!" her words began to get higher pitched and faster. "I was just looking for honeycomb; you can check my bag if you like! I heard voices, and usually no one comes this far out, so I looked, and I saw your camp, and I was scared! I was so scared. But I had to know why all of you were here, or I would be terrified later, thinking of the 'what if' so I just came closer to hear what you were doing here, I mean, we haven't had demons in Faron for as long as I remember! So I just had to know." She took a deep breath and turned to look at the demon that would decide her fate, ready for the wrath. He looked surprised at her outburst, but then thoughtful, contemplating.

"Let me see your bag"

"What? Oh, ok…" she slipped it off her back, and handed the simple cloth bag to him. She was puzzled, wouldn't he be mad? He took the bag, opened the flap, and turned it upside down. Sure enough, about a dozen pieces of honeycomb fell out, crashing to the floor. Lahnia's heart fell as she watched the sweet nectar ooze onto the floor, wasted. She knew that she was in a life or death situation, but that took her all day to collect!

She turned to look up at the demons face, and she would've laughed in a different situation. His face, so calm and collected before was one of utter disgust. He quickly regained his former emotion and looked down at her. He snapped his fingers and a chair appeared behind him in a flurry of diamonds. He sat down in it and crossed his legs, his head resting on his hand as he looked at her, uninterested.

"Wh...How?"The chair just appeared out of nowhere! Her response was a smirk, and he waved his hand, as if shooing her question away.

"It seems we are at a cross roads. While it might be surprising, I am a rather reasonable demon. I believe what you are saying is true; therefore I have no reason to kill you. You are of no worth to me, so there is no reason to keep you alive either. And of course I cannot have you go back to wherever you came from; there is no telling what you have heard. So, unless you have anything of worth to me, I might have to be unreasonable and kill you." He looked up from boringly staring at his nails, ready for her to interject.

"No! I can help you…um…" she looked around the room desperately, for inspiration. Her eyes rested on the table, where some scatted charts and maps rested.

"Oh! If you need it, I can make a map! I know this forest like the back of my hand! The forest has changed a lot over the years, with landslides, forest fires, and the like…" she looked up at the man, hoping he would agree. He gazed down at her, eyebrow arched.

"Hm… I suppose that would be helpful. But you do realize, after you create a map there will be no use for you again. You will need to come up with something else."

"I understand, and thank you…"

"Oh, have I not introduced myself? How rude of me. Ghirahim, but please just call me Demon Lord Ghirahim. And you are?"

"Lahnia" Ghirahim stood up, snapping the chair away. He walked past her heading toward the door, but he stopped. He turned his head to the side, but did not fully look at her.

"Oh, and one more thing." He turned to fully face her. "I want you to understand, we have reached an agreement. If you break that agreement by escaping, trust me, I will find you, and I will kill you. No hesitation." A shiver went down her spine at his tone. He wasn't joking. He smiled at her gleefully.

"Tata for now!" With a snap of his fingers he was gone. She stared at the vacant space he was just in. how did he do that? Then the wooden doors creaked open and the demon that had carried her walked in. Konan, as she had learned from the earlier conversation. He bent down and opened the bottle he was carrying. A pink fairy fluttered out and immediately went down to Lahnia's leg, healing it quickly. When she was finished the fairy fluttered up, then disappeared in a poof of sparkles.

"Thank you" her voice was quiet, but she was deeply grateful for the painful throbbings disappearance. The bulky red demon grunted.

"I didn't want to carry you anymore. Follow me." Lahnia stood up, and walked behind him out into the sunlight.

**A/N Please review! Suggestions, comments, and questions are all welcome! Thank you for reading!**


	4. The Realization

**A/N So this is pretty much a build up chapter. Not much action, but it's going somewhere! I promise. I guess when I was playing the game, I thought a lot about how the demon tribe would work, like what they would eat, where they would sleep, etc. So this is what I came up with. =) I guess I was sort of disappointed by the lack of reviews, but I realize now that this is a story that I want to write, so I'm going to keep writing it no matter what! ;) On that note, reviews would still be greatly appreciated. I would like to thank the lovely OrangeDragonofDusk who reviewed. I'm sorry, no suicidal missions, but the plot will twist in about 2 or so chapters! =D (I know it's slow to start) **

**I don't own Legend of Zelda.**

Lahnia stared at the back of her hand, concentrating. She was trying to remember every nook and cranny of Faron Woods, knowing that her life most likely depended on it. 'Know it like the back of your hand' it was such a strange expression, she could think of many other things she knew better than the back of her hand. She sighed deeply, looking at her almost completed map of Faron Woods.

After her conversation with 'Demon Lord' Ghirahim, Konan had led her to a small canvas tent, deep within the camp. There were two wooden poles supporting the fabric, one up next to the stone wall of the sealed grounds pit, and one outward facing the 'trail' of the slope. Next to the wall there was a small wooden desk with paper, ink and a feather; where Lahnia now worked. There were two makeshift beds of blankets on the ground, and a small lantern hanging from a nail on one of the poles. She wasn't alone however; Konan resided on a wooden stool much too small for a demon of his size at the opening of the tent. When Lahnia occasionally turned around to stretch her back she noticed how obviously annoyed he was at having to guard her.

As she was thinking of her helpless situation she heard Konan move. She turned around to see he was lighting the lantern. The sun was quickly receding, and the light penetrating the cloth tent was gone. She turned back, sighing, and looked at her map. It was very well made, but she looked at it was dread. Why did she have to work so fast? When she was done there would be nothing stopping the demons from murdering her in cold blood. She had to think of something she would be useful at!

"Hey, you've been staring at that for a while, are you done?" she turned, surprised that the grumpy demon had actually spoken to her.

"Um, not quite…" he looked completely bored out of his mind, and she could picture him being perfectly content with killing her. She didn't want to give him any reasons to be mad at her. That was when her stomach growled. There was a long and awkward silence. He looked at her, almost amused.

"If you were hungry, you could've just told me"

"I didn't want you to get mad…" she admitted sheepishly, blushing.

"I'll get you some food. It's not like we don't feed our own prisoners" she could have sworn he rolled his eyes. He stood up, and stepped out of the tent and yelled:

"Hey you; watch her for a minute!" a small pudgy demon came in and stood at the front of the opening as Konan left. He crossed his arms threateningly, glaring at her like she was about to escape. She sat still, while trying to advert her eyes from the guard. After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, Konan came back with two steaming bowls.

"You are dismissed" as the demon left, Konan handed her a bowl and a spoon. She looked down and was… horrified. The steaming liquid in the bowl looked repulsive. It was black and had abnormally shaped brown chunks of…something floating in it. It smelled of spoiled food and dirt. She grimanced at it.

"What is this?" Konan looked up at her from his bowl, already half empty.

"What do you mean?" she raised an eyebrow, and gestured to the bowl.

"It's food. And it's all you're going to get so eat up." His voice held the hint of annoyance, and he turned his attention back to his bowl. She looked back down at it, and her stomach growled. She could refuse to eat it, but she would have to eventually. She closed her eyes, and took a sip. Her senses were immediately bombarded by… awfulness. It tasted a thousand times worse than it smelled! She remembered when she was little she once ate a bug out of curiosity, and it was the worst thing she had ever tasted. That memory seemed like a frosted strawberry cupcake compared to this stew. She immediately spit it out. She jumped up, and began rubbing her tongue with her finger.

"This tastes awful! It's the worst thing I've ever tasted!" she yelled before she could stop herself. Konan looked up, surprised at her outburst. The emotion was quickly replaced by anger.

"And you think you can do any better?" he set his bowl down and crossed his arms.

"Frankly, yes. Anyone can cook better than this." She knew she should be scared, but she didn't care. She loved to cook, and the fact that these demons didn't care about the taste or quality of their food was, almost rude to her. Konan seemed skeptical, and stood.

"Prove it"

"Fine. I will." There was a moment of silence as the stood there, both staring at each other, angry. Lahnia looked away first.

"Um, where?" Konan looked surprised.

"You're actually going to cook?"

"Well, yeah" he looked outside, his anger fleeting.

"Tomorrow. It's too dark. Finish your map." Lahnia had completely forgotten about her main task. She nodded and sat back down, adding lines. After a moment, she could hear Konan settle back down onto his undersized stool.

x

She remembered what had stopped her working before on the map. It was the matter of the Sealed Temple. From her view in the camp, she couldn't see it. It just looked like a grove of trees. She thought that it was strange because she's been through the deepest part of the woods even as a child and she could always see its old vine infested walls from a great distance away. She vaguely remembered earlier today when she was collecting honeycomb she didn't notice it. It was almost as if it… was meant to be hidden. So she couldn't decide whether to put it in the map or not. She didn't want to mess with anything, especially since it was the goddess's temple. She decided to fill the space on the map with a thick impenetrable grove of trees.

**A/N Please read and review! ;)**


	5. The Trial

**A/N I was having some minor writer's block while writing this. It's sort of choppy, so I apologize in advance. **

**I don't own Legend of Zelda. **

Lahnia woke to the busy sounds of camp. After she finished the map last night, she had collapsed into her 'bed' of blankets. She yawned and sat up, rubbing the sand from her eyes.

"You're up early" She turned towards the deep voice. To her surprise, Konan was sitting on his little stool, the same place he was when she fell asleep.

"Have you been up all night?" Lahnias voice was slurred from sleepiness.

"What do you expect? I'm your guard." He seemed annoyed by her question, but he then grinned mischievously.

"Ready to cook?" he stood up, and walked towards the tent flap. "We don't have all day." She begrudgingly threw her blanket aside and stood, stretching her back. She walked over to him, and nodded.

"Follow me" They left the tent and began walking down the slope. The cool morning air hung as a heavy fog. The sun was just making its way above the horizon, the rays beginning to penetrate through the darkness. There were only a few demons walking about, the camp just beginning to wake up. They stopped in front of a large fire pit, with a large iron cauldron resting next to it. Against the wall there were cloth bags full of deku pears and stamina fruits.

"Well, here we are. Get started." Lahnia walked up to the bags full of fruit, looking for something.

"Where are the other ingredients?" she dug through them, but only the two fruits were there. Konan looked at her questioningly.

"What do you mean? This is all there is." She sighed. No wonder they had such a lack of taste. You can't make a good meal with only two ingredients!

"I need more ingredients, like Farons grass, deku seeds, heart fruit…" she began listing multiple ingredients, while Konan looked at her strangely.

"Wait" he interrupted her, and she stopped.

"Do you really need those? And why do you need so many things just to make food?" Now it was her turn to look at him strangely. She tried to think of a way to explain it to him, but to someone that had never tasted good food that would be almost impossible.

"Just trust me. So can we go get the ingredients?"

"We? No. Tell me what you need and I will get them." For the next few minutes Lahnia tried to describe all of the plants she would need. She would have preferred to just go get them herself, but she knew that was an impossible thing to ask. Konan left for the foods, leaving a sleepy demon to guard her.

xxxxx

Why was he so curious about this? Konan was picking plants as he questioned his bizarre turn in his thoughts. A few days ago he wouldn't have cared to try 'good' food. Food was just meant to keep your strength up and nothing more. It didn't matter how good it tasted as long as it got the job done. But… there was just something about the way the girl had acted. When she first came, she was like a tiny ball of fear, trying to say as little as possible to not upset them. When she talked about food it was as if she was a different person, completely confident in herself. Konan wanted to know what was so special about it. That wasn't it though. The way she acted last night… it was as if just pure power exuded from her. It lasted only for a moment but it was enough to confuse him. It was strange and he felt… intimidated. That was a very unusual emotion for him, as he has killed many innocent lives without a second thought. So how could a weak, small girl intimidate him? He sighed heavily, and shook his head. It must have just been his imagination. His mind settled on that, and he went back to work trying to remember the impossibly long list of plants to collect.

xxxxx

"It's finished" Lahnia was stirring the stew above the fire, smells wafting up to her face. It had been two hours after Konan had returned, with only half the ingredients she had told him. Like a good cook she had made do with what he brought. While she was cooking there were a lot of strange glances by demons walking by. She didn't care though, she was in her element. Konan sat up from where he had been watching her and walked over, peering into the pot.

"Do you want to try it?" She ladled some of the stew into a bowl and handed to him. He looked at it suspiciously, and then took it. With another glance at the smiling girl, he took a sip. As Lahnia watched, his face grew more confused, then shocked. He quickly downed the whole bowl. He looked down at her with, dare she say it, awe. He spoke quietly and slowly.

"That is the best thing I have ever tasted in my life." She beamed up at him.

"Thank you."

"We've got to tell Lord Ghirahim." Her face fell. She really didn't want to see him again. He had really creeped her out and she felt very uncomfortable around him.

"Um, you can go, I'll stay here." She mumbled, looking away. She was quickly receding into her shy, scared personality. Konan didn't seem to notice as he ladled more soup into a bowl. He then started walking up the slope, excitingly talking to himself. He stopped when he noticed she hadn't moved, and yelled back at her. His voice had turned back to his usual threatening tone.

"Follow!" She sighed and quickly ran up behind him, her stomach full of butterflies. _What if he decides I'm not worth it and just kills me? _Soon they were at the stone building again, and Konan quicklyopened the door and walked in. They went through a dimly lighted hallway before coming to another wooden door. He knocked, waiting for an answer.

"Come in." A shiver ran up Lahnias spine, there was no way she could forget that voice. They walked into a small room, with similar style to the main one she had met him in. There was a few stone pillars that housed burning torches. It still had that cold musty feeling. The only difference was size, and the lavish wooden desk that Ghirahim now was at. He looked up from his plans, an evil smile playing on his lips as he saw Lahnia.

"Oh, have you finished the map? That was awfully fast. Have you thought about what you're going to do now?" He stood, walking over to her. She gulped, and looked away.

"Actually, my Lord, we have come to have you taste this." Ghirahim looked at the guard, eyebrow raised.

"And what is it?" he walked over to Konan, who offered the bowl to him.

"Stew." Lahnia mumbled, responding before Konan could. She could feel Ghirahim gaze at her for a while before she lifted her head to see him taking a sip. She held her breath. After a moment of thinking, a smile crept across his face.

"It seems we have a new job for you…"

**A/N Please read and review! ;)**


	6. The Promotion

**A/N First off, I'm sorry for the late update. I realized that I had to write a chapter that will come later on in order to get my head straight about a certain character. I also wrote a plot line! (I finally decided on an ending yay!) **

**I'd also like to thank OrangeDragonofDusk and sapphireredverne who reviewed! Thank you guys so much, it means a lot to me. ;)**

**Enjoy!**

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Ghirahim looked up from his plans, annoyed at the interruption. A tall, lean demon walked in and kneeled, head bowed.

"My lord, you called for me?" He paused, and then went on.

"You might have mistaken me for someone of a higher rank. The name is common." Uncertainty edged at his smooth voice.

"And do I seem like the type of person who would make such a careless mistake?" Ghirahim's voice was full of authority, with a hint of malice. The demon faltered.

"No my lord. I, I apologize." Ghirahim huffed and flipped back his bangs with his hand, only to have them fall in the exact same spot. He stood and walked in front of his desk, leaning on it with his arms crossed.

"You may stand." The malice was gone, but the authority remained. The young demon stood, facing him with a look of respect. Unlike most demons, he was neither heavy nor heavily muscled. In demon views he was scrawny, but to an elf still intimidating. His lean muscles showed clearly through his vibrant blue skin. He had deep blue eyes that shone like the midnight sky. Two dark horns extruding from the messy black hair on his head. He wore simple tan pants that reached his knees and an open tan vest that exposed his chest. A dark brown sash wound around his hips, cradling a long vicious machete for ready access. His facial features were average, but leaner than most. Across his face was a straight, deep scar that crossed one of his eyes. Around his neck he wore a simple leather cord with a nut shell hanging from it. He stood straight and confident yet still showing the slightest hint of uncertainty.

"Actually, the reason I called you was to promote you." There was obvious shock on the demons face. The emotion turned to puzzlement, but he waited for the lord to explain. Ghirahim examined his nails as he spoke, bored.

"This will not be a… usual promotion; it is a completely unique task. And I believe that you would be perfect for the job." He smiled at that, remembering last night. After he had sent Lahnia and Konan away, he knew that a permanent job like hers would require a permanent guard. Of course he could not keep Konan as her guard; he was too skilled a warrior to look after such a weak girl. He needed someone… disposable. A useless warrior. He eyed the demon in front of him at that thought. The next morning he had went out to see his platoon captains, speaking to all of them to find out who was the best for the job.

However, it wasn't just to look for a useless demon, but also another trait. For demons, when one is born and raised a warrior, after a while of no bloodshed they get vicious. They turn into a raging killer, not caring if their targets are friends or foes, or in this case, an innocent prisoner. As he spoke to the platoon leaders, one of them pointed out this demon, for he was a skilled warrior yet the number of his kills were much less than others. They did not know why, but it seemed he always hesitated before killing anything.

"Before I tell you the job, I must ask you, do you enjoy killing things?" The demons eyebrows furrowed at the question. He was unsure, afraid it might be a test. Ghirahim's gaze bore into his eyes, almost daring him to lie.

"No." The lord smiled, apparently pleased with this answer.

"Then you will be perfect for this. The job I need you for is a guard job. We have recently acquired a prisoner who has a long term use for us. This means you will stay in the camp to guard her and will not get as much… action out in battle. Do you wish to accept this?" Ghirahim tilted his head, waiting for a response. The young demon failed at trying to conceal his smile. With a grin, he bowed.

"It would be my honor to, my lord."

xxxxx

As he followed the demon lord down the slope, he was trying to keep his smile at bay. This was just the kind of thing he had been striving for! Every time he went to battle it was like a little part of him died inside. He couldn't stand to harm any creature, but he had to. A job that required none of that was like a dream.

They arrived at a small fire with a cauldron perched over it. There was an elfin girl slowly mixing the concoction, concentrating as she turned the long stick around the thick stew. A large muscular red demon was sitting to the side, eating from a bowl. He looked up, surprise running across his face before he stood up to face Ghirahim. He glanced at the young demon briefly.

"Is there anything I can do for you, my lord?" Ghirahim looked up at him, outstretching his hand toward the path.

"Yes, you are relieved from guard duty. Return to your post and resume your previous task." His voice held the highest amount of authority, but the larger demon seemed unsure.

"I don't mind guarding her; it's no trouble at all." The lord raised an eyebrow, and looked pointedly at Konan's belly, as it had grown in the past two days.

"I think your stomach would disagree. Leave. You know the punishment for disobeying a direct order." Konan glanced at the girl behind him, who was watching with quiet interest. He then began walking away, a slight slump in his shoulders. Ghirahim then turned to the girl.

"Lahnia, this is your permanent guard. Anything you need he will be in charge of." Then, to the demon.

"You will be responsible for her. Provide her with ingredients, make sure she doesn't escape, and make sure nothing happens to her. Someone will come each night to collect her creations." He looked back at Lahnia, who was still silently observing. He nodded towards her in a goodbye and then snapped his fingers, disappearing in a cloud of diamonds.

The young demon turned to her, not moving as he watched her. She met his eyes, then quickly looked down, pink tainting her cheeks. She concentrated on the stew as he observed her. She was a head shorter than him, and her features were soft and lean. She had her long wood colored hair tied back behind her as to not get any in the food. They stayed like that for a while, and an awkward silence settled between them. Finally, she broke the silence.

"I… I don't think caught your name." Her voice was soft and pleasant, but quiet and nervous as well.

"It's Plazo" He wasn't sure how he was supposed to act, as he had never guarded anyone before.

"It's… nice to meet you…" she mumbled as she continued to stare at the soup. The uncomfortable silence ensued once again. Plazo went to sit on the stool the previous demon had been sitting on, and he could see Lahnia tense. He was to the side of her, and she could feel his unwavering stare. Her hands started to shake from her nerves. Was he good? Bad? She didn't know anything about him, and that unnerved her. She had finally been getting along with Konan and now she had to start all over again.

They stayed like that for hours, with Plazo staring at her and Lahnia nervously cooking. Not once did she glance at him. Finally, someone came to break the awkwardness. It was a stout green demon with a very pronounced belly.

"I'm here to take the soup." He did not seeming to notice the tense situation as he lumbered up to the pot.

"Oh, wait just one moment please." Lahnia turned and grabbed two bowls that were on a wooden table behind her, and ladled the stew into them.

"Go ahead." The demon took the handle, and hauled it up the slope. She watched as he struggled with the huge pot. Then she sighed. Turning to Plazo, she asked in a shaky voice:

"Would you like a bowl?" She offered him a steaming bowl, looking at him questioningly. He grunted as he took the bowl from her hands. She sat down on a stool next to him, looking into the camp while she began her supper. All of a sudden, there was a surprised gasp. She looked over to Plazo, who was looking at the soup with surprise. As she watched, he took another sip, then another. With each passing moment she could see him become more confused yet delighted at the same time. When he was finished, he turned to her, who was now smiling broadly.

"You made this?" Apparently her cooking was enough to break the silence spell.

"Who else?" He seemed to contemplate that, then nodded.

"That was amazing" She tilted her head, still smiling.

"Thank you."

**A/N Please tell me what you think! =)**


	7. Life at Camp

**A/N I know I haven't updated this in a while; I've been really busy lately, sorry. I also wanted to make sure this chapter flowed smoothly between the events. Once again, thank you to OrangeDragonofDusk who reviewed!**

**Enjoy!**

The next week went by quickly. As word spread of the new chief's amazing food, the number of cauldrons she had to cook quickly multiplied. She blamed Konan. Every night he would saunter over, helping himself to her food. He would still chat with her occasionally but she knew he was only there for her creations. He would leave with the bowl, chatting with others while eating, sparking their interest. Soon she had at least half of the camp trying to get a bowl of her food. However, she didn't realize that not everyone was fine with her new position.

Two days after Plazo was assigned to her, the offended demon came over. As usual, Lahnia was cooking, chopping up some deku pears. That's when she heard the shouting. She looked up, to see a crowd of demons trying to stop an enormous demon angrily stomp up the slope. He was huge, his massive red belly jiggling as he struggled to walk up the path. To her horror, he stopped in front of her cooking area. The demons that had tried to stop him gave up and quickly dispersed, not wanting to get in the way of his rage. Plazo, who had been lazily watching the giant now sprang up when he realized his anger was directed towards them. The furious demon pointed at Lahnia.

"YOU. LITTLE. DEVIL! I AM THE CAMPS COOK, NOT YOU!" He took a step forward and heaved the cauldron forward, turning it on its side. She jumped out of the way before the boiling liquid could scald her. She had been working on that for hours! She looked at the demon, who was glaring distastefully at her spilt soup. Then he turned to her, his eyes blazing with hatred. To her relief Plazo hastily stepped in front of her, blocking the threat with his extended arm.

"Do not come any closer." His voice was monotone yet held authority. The demon looked down on him. He was at least a foot taller that Plazo, and Plazo was not a short demon. His voice was laced with disrespect.

"Out of my way, tree hugger."

_Tree hugger?_

"No" The two demons stood there, glaring at each other. Lahnia held her breath, glad she was behind Plazo. Then the larger demon suddenly swung his arm out at Plazo's side. Plazo quickly sidestepped, taking hold of the attacking demons arm and used the momentum of his swing to send the demon to the ground. Plazo pulled the arm behind his back and the demon was angrily grunting trying to release his arm. When that didn't work he resorted to trying to get up with Plazo on his back. Then, the extraordinary occurred. He stopped. There was no struggling, or angry grunts as there was before. He wasn't dead, as no blood was drawn. Confused, Plazo hesitantly released his arm and stepped back. The large demon slowly stood up, his hand to his mouth in a look of puzzlement. She noticed the smallest amount of orange liquid on his fingers, immediately recognizing it. When he had been knocked down he had accidently tasted her spilled soup! Her eyes widened, and she tensed, preparing herself for the next wave of wrath. The demon mumbled something then shot Lahnia a cold stare. She could almost see the slow wheels turning in his head as he contemplated this new information. He glanced down at the ruined soup, then back at her. Begrudgingly, he grunted and left, pushing through the circle of intrigued demons that had watched the spectacle take place.

xxxxx

"Excuse me" A cool voice whispered in her ear. Lahnia jumped and turned around. The Demon Lord was directly behind her, seemingly having appeared out of nowhere. He straightened up, crossing his arms.

"Wha… where did you come from?" It had been an hour since the incident with the camp cook. She had just finished cleaning up the mess and was starting to slice stamina fruit to restart her soup. Ignoring her question, he walked over to the cauldron and peered into the empty pot, raising his eyebrow at her.

"Why are you starting to cook now? It's nearly sunset. I do not like to be kept waiting." Plazo walked over from where he had been sitting and gave a quick bow.

"My lord, the main cook came over earlier and ruined her first batch." Ghirahim rolled his eyes, then nodded.

"He has always been temperamental. I'll have to have a word with him. Hm… well, I can't have you cooking in the dark. You're relieved from it tonight." He pointed at Lahnia.

"Tomorrows however, must taste amazing for the wait." She nodded. He smirked and then snapped his fingers, disappearing in a cloud of diamonds. She looked quizzically at the fading diamonds before turning to Plazo.

"Seriously, how does he do that?" He gazed at her strangely.

"Isn't it obvious?" She shook her head.

"Well, its magic." She nodded, happy to finally get an answer. Then she frowned.

"What's that?" He tilted his head, confused by her question.

"You don't know what magic is?"

"No"

"Well, it's… um… it's actually really hard to explain. I guess it's something that happens that can't be explained."

"Oh. Like rain?" He smiled a little, surprised at her naivety.

"No, it's something that's not natural."

"But everything is natural." She furrowed her eyebrows, confused.

"Is him disappearing in thin air natural?" He smiled openly at her, amused.

"Well, no… I guess not." She turned and began to gather her chopped stamina fruit to put it in a bag. She paused, and turned around again.

"What else can this… magic do?" He put a hand to his chin as he thought.

"Well, it can make you teleport, heal serious wounds, make shields or barriers, summon things, and a lot of other stuff. But only a few certain people can use magic. Most normal folk can't."

"Huh. Ok."

xxxxx

"Where are you from?" The question was sudden, and she hadn't been expecting it. Plazo and Lahnia were walking in the forest, collecting ingredients. She had finally convinced him to let her come, stressing that the ingredients were very hard to find, and there were many. So far the trek had been silent; he held his machete in his hand to warn her of escape. She was well aware of daunting weapon, and always kept her eye on it as she picked plants and deposited them in her bag. After an hour of this, he seemed more relaxed and a little bored, which was what probably prompted the question. She glanced up at him as they continued to walk between the leafy trees.

"My village"

"Where's that?" His voice held honest curiosity. She furrowed her eyebrows, not sure if she should tell him or not. She mentally shrugged to herself, the demon lord had promised not to harm her village, and she felt as if she could trust Plazo.

"It's across Lake Floria, on the cliffs near the water falls. It's very peaceful there." She sighed, remembering.

"I loved growing up there. The lake was so peaceful. Near our village there were vines that lead down to a shore on the lake, and I loved swimming there with my little sister, Myra. She would always go into the lake and try to catch the fish as a small child. Her determined expression always made me laugh as she splashed around, the fish quickly learning to go nowhere near her. She's three years younger than I." She sighed again. "I miss her so much. We were like best friends, telling each other everything. We always got along so well, unlike my brother and I…" She shook her head, trying to get her abusive brother out of her mind. Her father died when she was only five, so her older brother took over the household. He would constantly tease her and undermine her, and she hated it. They never saw eye to eye, but she was always too secluded to take a stand. However, they did have a few intense fights when she could not stand him anymore. He always got his way though, it didn't matter how much she disagreed with him. After the death of her beloved, their mother fell into a depression. She never seemed to notice the resentment between her two children. Lahnia began to feel Plazo's curious gaze on her, and blushed. She put her hand on the back of her neck and grimaced.

"Sorry for blabbing on like that…" Plazo just smiled, and looked down the path again as they walked.

"No, it's… nice to hear about your life." She blushed, not knowing what to say. A silence settled between them as she began collecting some grasses. When she had swung the bag onto her back they continued. Lahnia casually looked up at him. He seemed content, looking through the forest with almost a… loving look. Her mind flashed to the day before. The large cook had called him a… tree hugger. Maybe there was something more to that than a taunt. After all, she had noticed the strange pendent of a nut shell that he always had around his neck.

"May I ask you something?" He glanced down at her and shrugged. She took this as a yes.

"The other day, why did that demon call you a tree hugger?" He shrugged.

"I like plants." She waited for more, an explanation. It never came. She pursed her lips, frustrated. She had told him of her life, granted it was on her own will, but she wanted to know more about him. He seemed so… odd for a demon. Whenever others walked by their cooking area, they always grew silent as they passed him. It wasn't from fear though, it was something else. In her village there was a strange old man who always sat outside on his rocker. His eyes were distant, seeing the unknown. When you were walking by you could always hear him mumbling to himself, about the importance of three pieces, how the world would be torn apart by a dark force. People soon learned to avoid him, casting him suspicious and strange looks as they passed his house. That was the same look the demons gave Plazo as they passed. They avoided him like he was odd, or crazy, or both. He never seemed to notice though. He seemed kind and normal, so she didn't know what was so different about him that she did not see.

Well, there was one thing. She eyed his scar with interest. It seemed deep and one that would have been nearly fatal at the time. It was colored a darker hue of blue compared to his vibrant blue skin tone. It started from the middle of his forehead and ran all the way down to the lower left side of his jaw. It was perfectly straight, as if by a sword. The only reason his eye was sparred was the way his eyes naturally sunk into his skull. She hadn't asked about the scar yet, but she had been dying of curiosity ever since she first saw it. Well, now was no different than later.

"Can I ask you another question?" He nodded as he looked at the branches above, the morning sunlight streaming through the thick leaves.

"Where did you get that scar?" It was as if the world stilled. The warm comfortable atmosphere was switched to a sterile threatening one. Plazo stopped, staring ahead with unseeing eyes, as if remembering. His body was completely tense. His head turned slowly toward her, and for the first time around Plazo, she feared for her life. His dark black eyes flashed a look of pure hatred, but it was soon replaced by heart wrenching sorrow. He softly whispered with regret heavy in his tone.

"Not that question."

**A/N In my head at least, Myra is pronounced Meer-ah. Her name means wonderful and quiet song in Latin, which I think fits her. I know you don't know a lot about her yet, and honestly, she's a minor character. I just think its fun to have names that fit the personality. Lahnia and Plazo don't mean anything though. **

**Anyway, please review! Reviews are like fuel to make me write faster. **


	8. Memories

**A/N Ok, so I've actually had most of this chapter written for a while, at least the first part. I have to say, this is my favorite chapter so far, I'm just so happy with how it turned out! =D All is explained…. Well, not all of course. But a lot. This is my explanation of the demon tribe origins and all that good stuff. **

**As usual a shout out to OrangeDragonofDust, my faithful reviewer. And hey, if anyone else reviews my story I'll give a shout out to them too! *hint hint cough cough* I'd really appreciate it if others reviewed. **

**Oh, and just so no one gets confused this chapter starts off with Plazo remembering his childhood.**

Plazo wasn't like most demons.

No, it was obvious that he was not. For one, he did not enjoy killing things. In fact, he tried to avoid it altogether. Much to his superiors distaste, he always waited till the last moment to kill something, internally begging them to surrender before he had to. This was extremely bizarre, as the demons ways were to kill first, then don't even ask questions later. Much to his chagrin he had still killed many, being pressured by the others around him. There was a simple reason why he cherished life, while his fellow warriors sought to destroy it. He was raised differently.

In the demon tribe, women were not strong beings. In fact, almost all of the women died shortly after giving birth to their children. That's why a female demon was never seen among the army. Women were treated as slaves in their tribe, only there to help the tribe grow. The only reason their race increased in numbers was the fact that the women gave birth to multiple children at once. Almost all of the children never even knew their parents, as it was quite common for the father to leave the mother right after conception. There was no need to stay as long term relationships were impossible with one partner dying off so early. Once the children were birthed and their mother departed, they were sent off to a community house to be raised until old enough to be sent to training. As soon as they could walk, they were taught the ways of warriors. Training was intense, and those who could not adapt were killed. This kind of childhood brought about the mindset of kill or be killed.

However, Plazo was not raised a warrior. His mother was the one odd demon out of thousands that survived childbirth. That in part, was because she gave birth to only one child. As soon as she realized that she wasn't going to die, her maternal instincts kicked in. She had seen the ways of the harsh training schools that hauled out the dead bodies of young boys who failed to adapt. She did not want her only child to have to go through that. So she took up the crying baby in her arms, and fled.

Since demons lived under the surface they could not go far. In the center of the city was the only two story building. This was the headquarters, where plans were discussed and where the higher ranking demons were housed. Around that were the multiple complexes of the warriors housing, and then the training schools. On the outskirts sat simple mud houses where old retired demons stayed, farming the only plant that would grow without light. It was called rutan, a dull tasteless root that had spidery branches adorned with sinister thorns. The old demons would sell the plants in carts on the dirt streets. The whole city was in a large dark cavern, and torches were always lit. It was the only city of their kind, but there were many abandoned tunnels that led far away into ancient caves. No one knew where they lead, as they were infested with devilish creatures like themselves.

She found a small cave close to the city that was unseen and uninhabited where she raised her child, scrambling into the city stealing food when they were hungry. She taught her son everything she knew. Most of all, to cherish life. After the boy was old enough to walk, it was frequent that they went exploring the abandoned caves of the underworld. Occasionally, they would find a plant that had managed to survive in the darkness of their world. When they did, they would just sit and look at it for hours, marveling at the tiny vessel of life. The curious youngster would constantly ask her questions about their rare findings, but the mother would regretfully admit that she did not know much, only to cherish it deeply.

One day they came upon their rarest finding of all. It was in an especially old cave, one that was accessed by a small crawlspace that could be easily overseen. After they pushed away the vines and crawled through the crumbling old tunnels they emerged in a round pocket of earth. They found a small tree growing there, no taller than the mothers knee. It was weak and dully colored, yet it had still managed to survive its years of growth. Between the wilted yellow leaves was a single small brown orb, with dimples covering the hard surface. The mother had plucked it off, in awe. She had only heard of them in stories of the surface, she never thought she would ever see a real one. If she remembered correctly, it was called a… nut. She excitedly showed her eager son, expressing that this was very rare indeed. Then she drew her knife, and with the precision of a surgeon cut into the side of the nut, slicing it evenly in half. She showed the soft edible inside to her child, explaining the specialness of this event. They each ate half of the soft inside. They had to leave, but they kept their shells as a reminder of the miracle of life.

When he was a young man, they noticed the shortage of food. Usually it was quite easy to steal food, as many of the old demons had plenty and were always out on the streets selling it in stands. The past few weeks were different. Now food was a closely guarded rarity. They ate up their backup supplies in mere days, and were desperate for food. They watched from their cave as hundreds of warriors left the city, with the precious food on their backs. It was obvious they were leaving for war.

One day he and his mother were rummaging through a garbage pile on the side of a hut, and they found a can of food. They hadn't eaten in days. The mother accidentally dropped it and it rolled out into the street. Plazo, desperately hungry ran out into the street to fetch it, forgetting his mother's constant warnings to never be seen. Sure enough, two soldiers came over and seized him. They asked what squadron he was in, and he looked at them confused. They soon spotted the worrying mother in the shadows and dragged her out. They realized her betrayal of the tribe by keeping her child, and one drew his sword. Plazo remembered the rage and horror that propelled him to tackle the soldier, earning him a sliced face as a result of soldier's reaction. However, it was in vain. They held him back as he watched his mother get murdered by their own people. They released him and he ran to his fading mother's side. She said one thing as her eyes started to fog. Survive. Then she disappeared in a violet cloud of smoke.

They took him to the training facility. Years behind others, he was quickly spotted as weak and condemned to die. In his grief, he fought to do his mothers last wish. He quickly grew strong, but in endurance rather than strength. Avoiding conflict was better than facing it head on when he was so behind in skill and training. He kept to himself, and was soon sent off to the surface with the rest of the forces. That was 3 years ago.

xxxxx

He sat near the tent flap, staring at the moon as he remembered. He sighed at his suppressed memories resurfacing by the girl's simple question. During his time of training, he had learned that focusing on the past would easily get you killed. He hadn't dwelled on his upbringing in a long time. He took off his necklace, looking at the empty shell of a nut on the end of the leather cord. He had long ago carved a hole in the top of it, always keeping it close to him as a reminder of the miracle of life, as well as his mother. He ran his fingers over the dimpled surface, gazing into the shell as if it held the answers to the world.

"Plazo, are you crying?" He looked up to see Lahnia sitting up in her bed, looking at him curiously. He held his hand up to his cheek, feeling the warm droplets on his face, surprised.

Yes, yes he was.

xxxxx

The next morning was awkward.

After she had asked him the question he had just walked out of the tent, flat out ignoring her. She had never seen a demon cry before; she hadn't even known that they could. She couldn't go after Plazo as her ankle was bound to the pole to prevent her escape at night. She sighed heavily, and went back to sleep.

The next morning when she woke up she noticed he was still gone, but the chain binding her was undone. He must've come to unlock it earlier and then left again. Not knowing what else to do, she decided to go start cooking.

Plazo was waiting there, sitting at his usual spot. He didn't acknowledge her as she started that day's meal. While she worked she noticed his sad expression from last night was gone, only to be replaced by a blank stare. The whole situation was uncomfortable and depressing. They had been doing so well too, chatting as she worked and just generally getting along. They were almost… like friends. _Friends cheer each other up when they're sad. _But with what? There was nothing in this ruthless camp in the pit that would bring anyone joy. Then, her eyes rested on something, and she smiled.

xxxxx

He sat on his stool near the fire pit, ignoring her as he thought. Should he tell her? No, he hadn't told anyone of his past before. Why would he tell her anyway? True, they had gotten to know each other very well over the past few days, but not that well. There was no reason to tell her anyway, it wouldn't help at all. He tried to keep his face emotionless as he internally argued within himself.

"Plazo, look at this! Isn't it precious?" She was staring lovingly at a small plant that had somehow managed to grow between the cracks of the cold stone wall. He stood up and walked over to the wall to see.

"It's really amazing that anything can grow down here, the walls are so compact and sunlight hardly ever reaches down here. And look at its darling little leaves!" As she continued to chatter on about the tiny plant, he was surprised to see how exuberant she was. Her emotion held love, wonder, and awe at the plant.

"…it really is an example of the miracle of life." Those words penetrated his heart and his eyes widened as he looked down at the girl. That was something his mother was always talking about, and he hadn't heard anyone say that since her death. Lahnia looked up at him to see his surprised face, and she instantly became worried.

"Are you alright Plazo? I thought you liked plants, but… did I say something wrong?" The last few words were quiet and full of concern and confusion.

It wasn't that he was reminded of his mother, but he was reminded of the constant trust between them. He hadn't trusted anyone besides her, and you really couldn't if you wanted to survive as a demon. But… maybe he was wrong. Maybe… he could trust someone again. Suddenly he had a strong desire to tell her everything. He had done so many things in his life that he deeply regretted, and he always had to deal with it alone. That pressure was immense, and sometimes it felt as if he was suffocating. As a child whenever he did something that was hanging over him, he always talked it out and he felt better. Maybe, just maybe, that could happen again. Lahnia had given him only reasons to trust her. He nodded, the decision made. He looked down at the girl and smiled.

"I trust you." She tilted her head, becoming more confused and concerned. His whole mood instantly changed, from being depressed to cheerful. She waited, knowing he would explain. He turned and sat down in his stool once again, and motioned with his hand to the one next to him. She walked over to it and settled down, not knowing what to expect. There was a moment of silence as Plazo tried to decide where to begin, there was just so much.

"I've never told anyone this before. But… I feel like I can trust you. You trusted me when you told me of your past, right?" He looked at her and smiled warmly.

"Well, there's a lot to it. You see, I'm not like most demons…"

And he told her.

Everything.

xxxxx

Lahnia laid in bed, staring up at the cloth ceiling of her tent. She replayed again and again what Plazo had just told her earlier that morning. He really wasn't like most demons. It made sense to her now why the others always gave him strange looks, why he had that scar, his nickname, his necklace. It was all so… much. She turned her head to gaze at the snoring Plazo asleep across the tent. He had a smile on his face, probably relieved to finally confide in someone all the tragedy of his life. She turned her head back to look above her.

It had already been hours, and she couldn't fall asleep. She was wide awake. Somehow she felt… regret. She had been mulling over this feeling all night, not knowing why. Yes, she was happy that Plazo felt confident enough in her to tell her of his past. She should be happy, or even feel empathetic towards him. But why did she only feel overwhelming regret?

Was she regretful of his past? No, she could do nothing about it. Regretful of his being bullied? She couldn't do anything of that either. Regretful of his mother's death? … She paused in her thought process. That almost rang a bell. He tried to save her. He failed. He never saw her again. Somehow she could relate to that. But how? For her mother, father, sister? Her sister. Regret engulfed her at that word. She would never see her sister again. But why? Because she was imprisoned at this camp, and she could do nothing about that…. No, that's not true. She could do something about it; she was just too scared to.

Something clicked in her head and it all made sense. Plazo had _tried_ to save his mother, to be with her. Lahnia wasn't even trying to escape! He held so much love for his departed mother. She loved her sister more than the world! Why hadn't she even tried before? She was scared the demon lord would kill her. So? Plazo was willing to risk his life, why wasn't she? No, she was. Myra was all she could think about now. Was she ready to die trying to be with her little sister again, to just see her again? She paused. Of course. Of course she was. She had to try.

She had to escape.

**A/N So, what did you think? **

**I know the last part was a lot of question? Answer! I was trying to do the whole arguing in your head thing. Don't you just love it when that happens? (Sarcasm by the way) **

**Oh, and just for laughs I didn't realize this chapter was so long until I was finally done at 11:30, looked at my word count and it was 2,700 something. This was pretty much twice as big as my norm. Actually every chapter I write just keeps getting longer and longer. Hey, by chapter 15 it'll be like a whole novel in a chapter! ;) **

**Ok, over with my random ramblings. **

**Please review and tell me what you think! =D**


	9. The Escape

**A/N The long awaited escape is here! I know I haven't updated in a while, but I wanted to get this chapter right. I pretty much rewrote everything because I didn't like the way it sounded the first time. **

**Does anyone else get the coolest ideas as your writing? Well, of course other people do. (That would be pretty vain if I thought I was the only one) ~eye roll at myself~ I just think it's the coolest feeling. Just writing along and you go "hey, I can do this, and this…" and you're right there to put down the fresh ideas! That happened to me. It was pretty awesome. **

**As usual, thank you OrangeDragonofDusk for reviewing! =) It's really nice to have feedback.**

xxXxx

He was exhausted.

He had woken up that morning to Lahnia insisting that they go back out to the woods for ingredients. They had just restocked the supplies only a few days ago, but apparently she wanted a different plant to create a new recipe. After trying to convince her they could do it later, she finally won and he begrudgingly got out of bed. When they walked out, he was horrified to see that the sun hadn't even come up yet. _Just how early is it?_

Too tired to have a decent thought process, he followed her blindly like a dog. The whole time she was very excited, chattering as they looked for the special plant. After a relentless hunt in the forest eventually they found some disappointingly small bright purple mushrooms and headed back.

When they arrived to their usual fire pit, Lahnia immediately went to work cooking the day's meal. It was already noon by then, which was terribly late for the amount she had to cook. While Plazo had been looking forward to sitting down for a while, Lahnia mercilessly enlisted the help of Plazo to cut a daunting amount of heart fruit.

The day passed slowly as they worked, casually chatting as they did so. Surprisingly, the subject of Plazo's past was never brought up. He had figured that she would ask him questions, or even just discuss it more. After he revealed his childhood yesterday, she hadn't said anything. It seemed as if she was deep in thought. _Maybe… I shouldn't have told her_. No, he was still glad to have it off his chest. He just wished she would at least acknowledge the fact that he had told her his biggest secret.

By the time the pudgy demon came for the soup it was sunset. He smiled; the prospect of a long nights sleep for his tired limbs cheered him. He started to walk up the slope, but Lahnia slid in front of him with a somewhat distressed expression.

"Wait! Um… I… have a surprise for you, and I must prepare it. It will only take a few moments." As she said this her head was turned to the side, not looking at him. He was reluctant to wait any longer for his awaiting bed, but… a few more minutes wouldn't matter. He shrugged.

"Ok. I'll stand outside the tent so tell me when to come in." Her mood instantly brightened, and she beamed up at him nodding. They began walking up, and Plazo felt as if he could fall asleep right there. As she went into the tent, he turned to look up at the horizon turning an array of magenta, violet, and marigold as the sun descended. The crickets were just beginning their symphony of notes. He could even see a few stray keeses in the distance hunting in the sky for their evening meal. After a few minutes he was still staring up at the sky. He smiled. It was just so… peaceful. Being surrounded by nature. By the living. He was perfectly content. He didn't have to kill, he was on the surface, and most importantly, he could finally trust someone. He was completely confident Lahnia would do nothing to harm him, unlike everyone else in this distasteful camp.

"Alright, you can come in." He turned lifted the canvas of the tent, bending slightly as he stepped into the tent. Lahnia was in the corner near the small desk. He noticed that she had a small clay cup cradled in her hand. Since the tent was small he could see the liquid it contained, and his curiosity spiked. The concoction was a light pink color that looked creamy and contained a few tiny bubbles on the surface. She offered it to him with a proud smile.

"Here, I want you to be the first to try it. Everything I've made so far has been from recipes I know, this is the first that I've created myself. And the first drink. I'd love it if you told me what you think of it!" She eagerly held out the glass. He walked over to her but his eyes glanced down at the metal chain that bond Lahnia at night.

"Sure, but maybe I should…" Lahnia quickly blocked his view of the restraint.

"No need, this will only take a moment." She rather aggressively shoved the glass into his hands. Her eyes held the most innocent gaze.

"Won't you try it?" He raised his eyebrow at her, confused by her strange behavior. This could be from what he told her last night though. Anyway, he could trust her; he had already figured that out. Peering down at the awaiting beverage in his hands, he slowly raised it to take a small sip. His senses were immediately bombarded with a variety of different flavors. They were all very strange and different, yet at the same time they worked well together. He could taste the sweetness of honey, the sour of stamina, hints of nut, and most of all the creamy texture that bond it all together in perfect harmony. He quickly downed the whole glass, relishing in the flavor. He handed the vacant glass to her, ecstatic.

"You continue to surprise me every day; that was…" Suddenly a wave of vertigo dislodged his balance. Unsteadiness washed over him. Lahnias face started to go hazy, and colors smeared together.

"…really…" His head was swimming, and his legs felt like jello. The room started spinning. He clumsily reached his hands out to hold onto the desk in a desperate attempt to balance himself. He started to feel lethargic and his eyelids were drooping. His sense of the world around him started to dull, everything slowly fading to darkness.

"…what's going…" His tired eyelids closed, and he felt himself falling. He was vaguely aware of slender arms trying to catch him as he fell. He could barely hear the whispered apology as he left the world of the conscience.

xxXxx

Her plan had worked.

She looked guiltily down at Plazo, who was now snoring on the cold dirt floor. She felt terribly remorseful of what she did, but it was the only way. She had to get him out of the picture for even a chance of escape. It was actually quite a simple plan. The plant that they had spent hours looking for in the forest was a rare variety that had the desired side effects Lahnia needed. The only reason she knew of the mushroom was a terrible misfortune with one of the village men.

When she was nine that year there was more rain than usual. During the spring there was a disastrous mudslide in the woods, but luckily most of the elves were safe in the village when it occurred. All except one.

After the danger was gone the village sent out search teams to look for the missing elf. They eventually found him, having to pry him out between a cliff face and a fallen tree that he was trapped between. He made it out, but not before the two destructive items had managed to saw into his leg as the rushing water had passed him. When he came to the medic his leg was a mangle of flesh stained with his crimson blood. They had to amputate it, as it had already begun to fester with infection.

The only painkiller strong enough for the procedure were the small purple mushrooms that were so rare. They were poisonous, but not the gills. Lahnia had watched as they hastily took apart the mushrooms to use the only helpful part. After the elf ate the gills sleep immediately enveloped him as a side effect.

Those were the same mushroom she had used today. She had cloaked the unpleasant flavor expertly. Sighing at what she had had to do to her friend, she turned to her bed and threw back the covers to reveal two envelopes. She slipped one into the pocket of her dress, and placed the other on the desk. With one last sorrowful look at the sleeping demon, she turned to leave.

As she began to open the flap of the tent she tripped over something. She looked down to see the hated chain that restrained her at night. She paused; glancing at Plazo, then back down at the chain. She grimaced at her own thought. Well, it would buy her more time. Before she could change her mind, she quickly gathered the chain in her arms and walked over to Plazo. The chain locked into place around his ankle with a reassuring snap. _Where does he keep the key again? _She ransacked her brain for the answer; she never had really paid any attention before. Her eyes lingered at his pocket. She nervously reached her hand in the pocket, a blush painted on her face. _Well, at least he's not awake. _After retrieving the key, she slipped it into her own pocket.

She walked up to the tent flap, again, and extended her hand to the edge of the flap. Suddenly butterflies were dancing in her stomach. _I'm really going to do this. _After she walks out, there's no turning back. She either makes it out of camp, or she gets caught and dies. She took a deep breath, and stepped out the tent.

xxXxx

She slid her head past the flap, checking to see if anyone was there. The camp was empty. She could see the watch towers above that surrounded the sealed pit but the light from the lanterns didn't reach down here. There was no need for guards inside the camp as they were protecting against invaders, not trying to keep in prisoners. She slid fully out of the tent, confident that there was no one around to stop her.

She looked up at the stars, relishing in the night. The cool evening's breeze lifted her long braided brown hair gracefully. Crickets were singing their harmonies peacefully, and fireflies could be seen between the trees in the distance. The brisk temperature nipped at her bare feet, and goose bumps danced up her arms.

Slyly, she crept between her tent and the next, careful not to disturb either tents cloth. Her hand reached out to meet the frigid stone wall, a friend to her escape. If she just kept between the tents and the wall it was definite that there wasn't even a chance that she could be seen. Well, unless she woke someone up. She turned and tiptoed through the slight opening the tents made, making her concealed way up the slope. Light snores resounded from the tents, some louder than others. While in the past their snores had kept her up some nights, it was a welcome sound to her now. No one can fake a snore. She made her way quietly for the longest time, soon reaching the halfway point of the slope. Then the parade of tents ended.

This was one area she wasn't so sure about. The dreaded stone building that housed the Demon Lord was currently blocking her path to freedom. There was a fifty feet span of barren earth between the building and the last tent, where Lahnia now stood. No gap between the building and the slopes wall was present, so she would have to walk right in front of the building. So, not only would she have to expose herself for a long span, she would also have to pass by the residence of someone who would not hesitate to kill her on the spot.

She clenched her fists and inhaled deeply, calming herself. Before she could doubt her confidence, she left her cover. She silently jogged along the wall, making her way across the expanse of path. Her mind focused on reaching the top of the slope.

"So did you hear about…" Low whispers sounded behind her. Lahnia abruptly stopped, looking over her shoulder in horror. There wasn't supposed to be anyone patrolling this area! In the distance there were two demons, quietly chatting with one carrying a lantern. She looked back ahead of her, the building still a good twenty feet away. Could she make it? The voices were getting steadily louder. She didn't have a choice but to try. She ran for the building, making her way along the wall in the shadows. Thankfully, it was a dark night and the crickets were currently playing at forte, so her steps and rapid breathing were concealed. She reached the building and made her way to the large wooden doors.

They were now only fifteen feet away.

She reached her hands over the elaborate metal handle, and pulled as hard as she could. It wouldn't budge.

Ten feet.

It was locked? Not only that, but a distinct aura was rolling off the door in waves, repelling her with a strong force. Like magic, a barrier. She fought the repulsive force and tugged at the door desperately. In vain.

Five feet. The cheerful banter was turning to questioning tones.

_No, no, NO! _This couldn't end now, here, she was so close! She turned to face outward, her back pressing against the unwelcoming door. She flattened herself into it, nails digging into the wood.

Three feet.

She closed her eyes, brows furrowing in concentration. She could only hope for one thing now. Luck. That by some chance, they wouldn't see her. That they would pass her unaware. The image played in her mind. They passed her. They didn't stop her. They passed her. She was unseen. They passed her. It etched into her mind until it seemed real.

One foot.

The lanterns rays penetrated her eyelids, turning the inside a bright red. The image kept playing in her mind. Over and over. She could feel a slight breeze as they walked in front of her, their foul scent lingering behind them. She waited until the red faded into black in her eyes, and she dared to open them. They were well away in the distance, unaware of her presence.

They… they had passed her.

She stared at their retreating silhouettes in wonder, amazed. They surely should have seen her. The corner of her lip turned. Then the other. Then a grin. She suddenly laughed out loud at her luck, before raising her hand quickly to her mouth, still smiling. Her vision had come true.

It took a rather sudden aura of vicious repulsion from the barrier to remind her of where she was. Her smile fleeted and she quickly backed away from the door. After eyeing it suspiciously, she continued to make her way up the slope.

With what had just happened, she strangely felt more comfortable sneaking out of the camp. In turn, 'sneaking' out of the camp became more like just walking. Eventually she made it to the top of the slope.

This was the part of her plan she hadn't exactly planned out.

There were two options: easy way and the way she'll have to use if the easy way doesn't work out. The latter consisted of sneaking past the numerous watch towers encircling the camp. The light from each tower bleed into the next, with no gap between them. If she were to do that she would either have to run really fast or… well, she would just have to run really fast. She was hoping the easy way would work out.

In the ring of watch towers, there was one break. It was a large cliff side that seemed impossible to scale. Trees were seen at the top, and vegetation thrived in the numerous cracks on the cliff. She made her way over there. Unless she was mistaken, this was where the sealed temple used to be. Or as Lahnia thought, where it still was. If the temple was somehow destroyed, why wasn't there just the ruins? It was a cliff, for goddess sake. You can't just grow a cliff in a couple of months. If it was still there, maybe she could find a way in and make her way through the temple. She knew there were two doors in it after all.

Her eyes scanned the rock face, searching for a crack or small cave big enough for her body to squeeze through. After a few moments, she started over, huffing in frustration. It didn't seem like there were any! Maybe she could see one from a different perspective. She quickly spotted a small ledge where she could scan again.

She walked up close to the face of the cliff and gripped a protruding curve, hoisting herself up as she prepared to scale the surface. As she began to lift her right hand, it wouldn't budge. Since she was only a foot of the ground, she quickly hopped back down to observe the problem.

She tried lifting her hand again, but it was as if glue was holding it down. She leaned in to look, and saw that part of her hand was actually in the rock face! Panicking, she tried to yank her hand out, then reached up and put her other hand against the surface for leverage. Then that hand began to sink in. The unknown force was slowly drawing her body toward the rocks.

"No, no no no no no! Help! HELP ME!" As she yelled the cliff was gradually consuming her whole body. The rock was now up to her elbows, and as more of her flesh went in the rock looked as if it turned to liquid around her consumed parts. She could feel her hands inside, but she couldn't move them at all. She tried to struggle as the rock enveloped her shoulders. She turned her head to the side, frightened she would suffocate if it pulled her face in. The cold relentless liquid crept up along her face, bordering her jaw line before it sucked her whole face in.

She could see nothing. She could move nothing. She didn't know how, but she could still breathe. Her legs were still out, and she thrashed them around in a futile attempt to do something, anything. Her feet were the last to enter this strange, restricting world. Her body was now completely immobile. It was as if she was now a part of the rock. What would happen next would be completely out of her control. She would have shivered at that fact, but even that ability was banned.

_What have I gotten myself into now?_

**A/N Please review =)**


	10. The Exception

**A/N Wow, ok, so it's been almost two years since I updated this. I honestly didn't think I would continue this. Pretty much the main reason I am continuing is because of Elven Silver Power Ranger, so thanks for your very enthusiastic review! I have the whole story planned out, which I think is discouraging me from writing this because my mind is already five chapters in advance and I still have to write these parts. I'm also going to say this outright, I will not update at regular intervals. So if you want faster chapters, it will take a lot of convincing. Other than that, I do plan to eventually finish this. This is sort of a short chapter too, just to get back into the swing of things.**

** And boy, did I leave you guys off on a cliffhanger. I really am a jerk, aren't I? :S I sincerely apologize (bows respectfully)**

**XxXxX**

She felt so hopeless. So alone. _Am I going to die here? How can this even be possible? _She felt the cool liquid glide her body forward, into the unknown. After what felt like an eternity, her fingers broke the surface. Gradually, her hands were out of the rock and she could move them. All else of her movement was prohibited, and she could only grasp the outside air blindly. Next her arms came out and meet the brisk air. Finally she felt her head passing through the almost membrane like surface and she took in her surroundings. Unfortunately, it was dark. Just as dark as the rock. As she felt her legs come out, she blinked viciously in order to try to make her eyes adjust to the lack of light. It was useless, she only had her other senses to try to make sense of where she was.

The air was musty and dry. The sound of water trickling down a wall met her ears, echoing through an immense space. She made sure to not touch the wall behind her in which she had emerged, for the fear of being sucked back in again. Instead, she took timid steps forward, groping at the darkness before her. She tried to make as little sound as possible, worried that maybe some of the demons were in here also.

Her hands met a frigid stone wall, rough in texture. She slid her hand to the right, to find that the corner was close, and she did the same to the next surface. It had another close corner, she concluded it was a pillar, and she was near no outer wall. She let out a soft sigh. How was she going to get out of here if she couldn't see anything?

"Who's there? Link?" a weak raspy voice sounded. She immediately froze. No, she couldn't be captured now! She stood absolutely still, holding her breath in hopes that the mysterious foe wouldn't see her. She heard a groan and then soft steps approach her. Suddenly there was a fizz and the room was lit. Lahnia turned around to see a cloaked old woman with a torch in her hand. She walked up to Lahnia and in response she started to walk back. She was a short woman, at least a head shorter than Lahnia. However, a bright red hooded cloak made up the height with its tall point. The hood hid the woman's face in shadow, yet Lahnia felt the woman's eyes burn into her own.

"You're not Link." She stated, stiffening at the realization that this was an intruder.

"Who are you?" Lahnia gulped. If she told her would she just take her back to Ghirahim, to be killed? Maybe this lady was a guard, granted a rather weak one, but why use an able bodied guard in a place where it seemed like no one came? She had to get away from this woman. Even if she wasn't an ally of Lord Ghirahim, she could not take any chances. Meanwhile, the woman pointed a bony finger in her direction.

"How did you get in here?" confusion was evident in her voice, yet still stern and demanding. Before Lahnia could stop herself, she stuttered:

"The… the wall was… it…"

"You came in through the wall, but only Link and…" she stopped, as if realization dawned on her. While the old woman was talking Lahnia was still desperately trying to figure a way out of this giant stone room. She caught sight of a stone door to the right. Before the woman could talk again, she dashed towards it, using all of her strength to open the heavy stone door.

"Wait, I can help you!" the woman called to her. Lahnia scoffed as she ran through the small opening she created. _Yeah right._

The sound of crickets met her ears and her feet pounded on the damp, mossy grass as she ran away from the camp, towards her freedom. As the stars above lit her way, she rejoiced in her successful escape. She was silent as she ran, knowing every root and rock of this forest. She flew through the trees like a ghost, a ghost on a mission. She knew what she had to do now, and nothing could stop her.

**XxXxX**

Plazo groaned as he sat up, putting a hand to his temples to rub his sore head. What happened? His memory was foggy, but nevertheless he tried to recapture what had happened. He remembered going to the tent last night, then Lahnia giving him a special drink she made, then… nothing. His eyes suddenly snapped open at his realization. He quickly swiveled his head to view the empty tent around him. She… had knocked him out.

Augh, how could he be so stupid?! His hands clenched his hair as he felt utter disgust for himself. He had gotten too close to her, he had gotten soft. With a frustrated shake of his head he stood up, might start looking now, she might not be far off. As he stood up however, he felt an unusual weight on his leg. He glanced down to a chain locked around his ankle. With a snarl he grinded his teeth. This was just rubbing salt in the wound. He clenched his fists once more and took a deep breath. No sense in being mad now.

Fortunately almost all of the locks around the camp had the same key. It provided the illusion of security, and a cheap price. All of the important things had different keys of course, most belonging to Lord Ghirahim. He swiftly stuck his head outside the tent flap, his one leg pulled back from the chain. The camp was just beginning its day, the sun's rays slowly crawling down farther into the tent. A few demons walked about, getting a head start on the day's tasks.

As a lone demon was walking by Plazo called out to him.

"Hey! Can you come here for a moment?" The demon eyed him suspiciously, but nevertheless came over.

"What do you want?" He asked in a rough voice, obviously annoyed at the interference with his duties.

"Can I borrow your skeleton key for a second?" The demon gave him an odd look.

"Where's yours?" Plazo sighed and glanced down at his ankle.

"I'm kind of in a sticky situation right now." The demon gave him a disapproving glare, begrudgingly bending down to unlock the chain preventing Plazo's movement. After another sour glance he turned around heading up the slope. Plazo quickly bounced back into the tent to grab his satchel. As he did so his eye caught something strange. Folded on the desk was a folded piece of paper.

Curious, he walked over to it. He recognized the scrawling letters on the front to be his name, but when he opened the paper he could not read jumbled characters. Demons were not taught how to read unless they were upper class, as there was no point in teaching soldiers how to read. He recognized his name because that was the only thing they taught them, in order for a demon to receive orders.

Lahnia had written a full page, and Plazo was dying to know what she said, if she had a reason for leaving at all. Well, there was only a few demons in this camp who knew how to read, and if he didn't show the demon lord first he would be infuriated. He quickly grabbed his bag while tightly gripping the note and headed outside.

As Plazo quickly made his way up the slope he thought about what he would say, clutching the letter on his grip. The Demon Lord had said that he would kill her if she tried to escape. Would he really? As Plazo thought of this, a cold chill trembled through his spine. He would kill her. He stopped walking. What should he do? He couldn't hide the fact she was gone, that was too obvious. He would be killed anyway for trying to hide such an important fact, it was unloyal. Should he run away? No, there had been abandoners before and they were all hunted down and brutally killed. He sighed heavily. There was no other option except death. He could never accept the end willingly. With a grim resolution, he continued his walk.

All too soon, he arrived at the Lords doors, their height daunting. He gulped as he pushed his way in, being carefully to shut the heavy door behind him. He made his way up to the second set of doors, and quickly knocked on them, his hands beginning to sweat from nerves. The door swung open silently, as if welcoming him in. Plazo cautiously walked in, glancing around the dim room for the Lord, and the door swung shut behind him with a resounding thud. Suddenly, ruby diamonds splintered in the air and Plazo quickly got down to one knee, bowing his head before the demon lord appeared. He could only see his feet as the overpowering being gracefully steeped forward.

"What do you want? It is quite early for a report, so this better be important" Plazo saw his white clad foot tap impatiently on the ground, awaiting his answer. He gulped.

"My lord, I have bad news. Lahnia escaped." Suddenly, the foot stopped his tapping and an uncomfortable silence ensued. Plazo dared not to look up. Finally he spoke.

"Raise your head" Plazo uncomfortably obliged, his gaze slowly rising. The look in the Demon Lords eyes were filled with a dark rage, yet his expression was blank. It was as if Plazo could see his inevitable torturous death in the other's eyes. Plazo quickly glanced back down, terrified. His hands gripped the white note in his hands, and he realized he had forgotten it.

"She left this note" He offered the note, now crumbled.

"I can't read it" He added quietly. Plazo could feel the note being snapped out of his hands, and he glanced up to see Ghirahim reading it. When he had finished, he sighed, dramatically rubbing his brow in exasperation. Plazo gave him a questioning look and the Lord sighed once again.

"She says that she is sorry, and to not look for her, and that she won't go to her village so don't even look there" He says this all with a flicking hand as if to dismiss the information. He purses his lip in thought, and suddenly points a finger at Plazo.

"However, you are in luck. I need her back, and you are the one who knows her the most. I said I would kill her if she tried to escape, but just this once, I'll make an exception" He shoots a deadly glance towards Plazo.

"An exception with a cost, of course. Find her and bring her back by sunset tomorrow. If you fail, I will find her myself, and kill her" A smirk slowly grew on his wicked face, joy seeping into his words.

"And then, I'll kill you too" Plazo gulped. He should have expected this. Ghirahim was known for his cold personality, and death was a game to him. He should be grateful for the chance he was given. However, that thought did no good to settle his nerves. He bowed deeply.

"Of course, my Lord" Without another word said, he turned and left. Both of their lives were on the line now.

**XxXxX**

**A/N As per usual, any thoughts, comments, concerns are appreciated! =)**


	11. Homecoming

Lahnia slowed to a walk as she neared her village. The first rays of morning were slowly making their way across the sky, and the crickets began to quiet in preparation of the new day. She stopped at the cliff overlooking Lake Floria, her village across the span of water and up on the opposite cliff that overlooked it. It was a small, peaceful village, with its simple wooden huts scattered around each other. Even from here she could see the little bright dots of color from the flowers her fellow villagers loved to plant around their huts. Her town had always been good to her, a pleasant place to grow up. They didn't deserve her misfortune. Still, she had one thing to do in her village before she left for good.

With a heavy heart she sighed, and continued her way on the cliff towards her village. It was only a five minutes' walk the rest of the way and she soon found herself on the threshold of her village, of her past, of her home. While the night's darkness was fleeting, it was still dawn and her villagers were ones who enjoyed their sleep, so she didn't worry about being seen. She still kept in the shadows the best she could, making her way through the maze of huts towards a particular one that overlooked the water below.

The hut looked like every other, with a few differences. The front of the house was lined with a mix of daisies and marigolds, Myra's favorite. When their mother was still in her senses before their father died, she helped Myra plant the flowers, and they used to have one of the best gardens in the village. Myra still tried to keep it up on her own, but the flowers were fleeting. The year their father died they nailed his favorite hat above the door, so they could still greet him when they came home. As Lahnia walked under the archway she reached her fingers up to brush against his hat.

"Hey dad" She softly said, then reached her hand for the doorknob. As usual, it was unlocked, with no reason to lock it as everyone in the village knew and trusted each other. Quietly she made her way in, and as she looked to the small living room and kitchen a wave of nostalgia hit her. She was home.

Her pointed ears picked up slight snoring in the other room. They had a two room hut, a sleeping room and a kitchen/living room. She made her way towards the other room, and glanced inside. There were four beds tightly squeezed into the room, only two occupied. Closest to the door was her brother's bed, empty and unkempt. He was probably at some girls house or at the only bar in the village, which also served as a trading tavern by day and the town hall on the weekends. She could imagine him now, drunk and snoring on a barstool there.

The next bed was her parents, a queen sized bed where her mother slept, her soft snores floating through the air, the space next to her empty. Next was her sisters bed, and she could see her body curled up under the covers, a little round sphere as she slept. Next to her bed was Lahnias, empty and made, with marigolds on the pillow.

She was touched, knowing that her loving sister put them there, willing her to come home. They probably thought she was dead, after all, she had been gone for almost... a month? Has it really been that long? They had probably assumed that she was killed by a stray evil creature, that her adventuring had finally gone too far. In a way, that was almost true.

She looked down at her peacefully sleeping sister, and slid the other letter out of her pocket. Carefully, she slid it under her pillow, then bent down to softly kiss Myra's forehead. With one last glance at her mother and sister, she left the hut. Quickly she made it out of her village, careful to avoid the few elves who had woken early and were already puttering around the village.

Soon she was back in the forest, dashing through the familiar trees. Now she had to get as far away as possible.

XxXxX

Plazo swung his blade angrily at an unsuspecting tree, ripping it out to swing it at the next one as he walked. After he was done talking to the demon lord Ghirahim he left camp, going into the forest. Without the fear of the demon lord killing him for at least two days he could finally sift through his emotions.

Obviously, he was furious at Lahnia! She betrayed his trust after he told her everything. That was not the only reason he was angry though. He had finally gotten a good assignment, one that involved practically no other demons, no training, and no killing. It was his dream job. Apparently, it was too good to be true. After his failure with being Lahnias guard, if he managed to find her he would probably be reassigned. Granted, he wouldn't put it past the lord to go back on his word and kill him anyway. Either way, his dream job was gone.

That wasn't the only emotion coursing through him. The other was fear, not for himself, but for Lahnia. He had been bracing for his death since he entered training camp all those years ago, so if he died, it wouldn't matter that much. However, he worried about Lahnias fate. If Plazo found her, he doubted the demon lord would let her back in without some form of punishment. How much torture could a young girl really take? If Plazo didn't find her, lord Ghirahim had said he would find her and kill her. Yet when Ghirahim killed people it was always in the most horrific ways possible. Either way, Lahnias future was grim.

Hopefully Plazo could find her before the latter happened, because being tortured would be a lot better than being dead.

As he was agonizing over the facts he was making his way towards Lake Floria, towards her village. Lahnia had specifically said that she wouldn't be there, but where else would he start? It was the only place he knew of where she would go. However, he did know someone who might know otherwise. What was her name again? Melody? Melanie? Mela?

Oh, he remembered now.

Myra.

**A/N As usual, please review with comments, questions, critiques, etc. Thank you for everyone who is putting up with me being so sporadic with my updates! :3**


	12. The Letter

By the time Plazo reached the elven village, it was mid-day. He stood on the outskirts of town, hidden by the trees and brush of the forest. Before he stepped out, he hesitated. How was he going to find this girl? He pondered his brain for what Lahnia had told him, but the only thing she said to identify her sister was her name. He warily looked over at the busy village, easily spotting a dozen young girls just from where he stood. He pursed his lips, trying to figure out how he was going to do this.

He heard a rustling nearby, and turned his head towards the noise. A few yards from him a young elven boy sat on the ground near the edge of the woods, tracing patterns into the ground with a stick. The boy looked about eight years old, and he softly hummed to himself as he played alone. He hadn't noticed the demon so far, oblivious to the potentially dangerous situation he was in. Plazo smirked, a plan forming in his head.

Crouching down behind a bush, so he was unseen, he began to shake a corner of the bush lightly. As he peered through the dense leaves of the bush, he could already see the boy's sparked interest.

XxXxX

The boy was startled by a sudden noise, and he quickly located it to a bush a few yards away, near the edge of the woods. Wondering if it was a rabbit or a bird, he stood up, wiping his dirty hands as he did so. Abandoning his amateur drawings, he began to walk towards the slightly shaking bush. Suddenly it stopped, and he quickly walked over to it. Peeking behind it, nothing was there. Just as he was about to turn back, another bush deeper in the woods began to shake. He approached this one now, his curiosity spiking once again. When it stopped, he looked and nothing was there, yet another bush began to rustle. This happened a few more times until the boy found himself deep in the woods, the village no longer visible behind him.

Suddenly he felt a coldness on his neck and a big hand on his shoulder. A deep voice resounded behind him.

"Don't scream and I won't have to hurt you" The boy was frozen, he didn't know what to do. After a few moments, the voice spoke again.

"Now slowly turn around and I will release you, but if you run I won't hesitate to send this blade through your back" The boy, now shaking from fear, slowly nodded and began to move forward, the coldness leaving his neck and the hand releasing its hold as he stepped forward. As he turned around, he got a look at the man for the first time.

To his surprise, it wasn't a man at all. Worse, it was a demon. He hadn't ever seen one before, but recognized him from stories. Bright colored skin, in this case a deep blue, a towering height, two small horns poking out from a tangle of black hair, and of course, the pitch black eyes. If the boy remembered right this type of demon was called a bokoblin.

The bokoblin had his machete pointed at the boy, but wore a calm expression.

"Do you know of an elf named Myra?" the demon asked. The boy, still nervous, answered with a shaking voice.

"Y-yes" Plazo smiled.

"Good"

XxXxX

After the boy had pointed out which hut Myra lived in from their concealed spot in the woods, Plazo grimaced. The hut he had pointed out was near the edge of the cliff, but surrounded by other buildings. He had hoped they would be on the outskirts, so he could easily sneak in. Unfortunately, if he tried to reach their hut now he would be easily seen. He had no choice, he would have to wait until night to conceal himself.

He glanced down at the young boy, still nervous but behaving as he was told. He couldn't let the boy go now, or he would warn the villagers. He would have to keep him until nighttime as well.

He sat down on the ground, and set his machete to his side. The boy looked at him in alarm, the demon now the same height as the boy stood. Plazo smiled warmly at him.

"Would you like to play a game?"

XxXxX

They had been playing games all day, the boy, whose name was Devan he learned, quickly warming up to Plazo with the prospect of games. As the sun was quickly receding behind the tree line, and Plazo knew it was almost time. As they finished their current game, Plazo stood up. Devan looked up in surprise.

"It's time for me to take my leave. Do you remember what I told you?" The boy nodded, remembering how Plazo specifically said to not tell anyone he was here.

"Do you have to go? This was so much fun" Devan looked up sadly at the demon who became his friend. Said demon chuckled, and ruffled his hair playfully.

"No, I must go. And you must too. Now hurry home." The boy looked disappointed, but still ran off into the village.

Once the boy was gone, Plazo began to make his way through the village. Most of the elves were inside by now, but Plazo kept to the shadows anyway. Soon he was in front of the hut that the boy pointed out earlier.

As he was reaching for the handle to make his way inside, the door began to open on its own. Someone was leaving. Reacting quickly, the demon moved to the side of the hut, concealed in the shadows.

XxXxX

When Myra woke up that morning, she was surprised to feel something crinkle as she moved her head. Curious, she looked under her pillow and found a letter, with her name on it. And she would recognize that handwriting anywhere.

Quickly sitting up, she tore the through the envelope and quickly scanned the letter. She felt her eyes well up with tears of joy just to realize that her beloved sister was still alive. Once she read the letter over at least five times, she pondered the information given to her.

Lahnia had related to her the tale of where she had been, and also urged her to not tell anyone else why she was gone. In her eyes, it would be better if everyone thought she was dead since she had to leave the village anyway. She couldn't bear not telling Myra though.

With her leaving, Lahnia had told Myra that she wanted to see her one last time, before she disappeared for good. It was the only way to keep the village safe. Lahnia told her to meet where they always did, sometime tonight.

Myra smiled, immediately knowing where she was talking about. As children, when they wanted to get away they would follow the stream leading into the lake up to a huge tree, and play among its roots and branches. It was in the middle of the forest, but the tree was hard to miss due to its sheer size. Now, that was where they went whenever their brother was being especially cruel or they had to talk.

All day Myra was on edge, waiting for the sun to go down so she could leave. As she would wander about the house, she would constantly grip the hem of her skirt. She wore a simple green skirt, and a soft white blouse. She had wavy hair that was cut short just below her jawline, its dirty blonde color accentuating her soft curls. She shared Lahnias vivid green eyes, the color of grass on a sunny day. She had a carefree and trusting spirit, which contrasted with Lahnias nervous one. Even though the sisters were unalike, they still cherished each other deeply. That's why Myra was so uncharacteristically worried about this meeting. Would it really be the last time she would see Lahnia?

As she was left to her thoughts, she noticed the sky finally beginning to darken. She was ready to head out.

Her brother had left earlier to go to the pub, and her mother was in the living room sitting in a chair, her eyes blank as she stared ahead of her, lost in thought, as she had been all day.

"Mother" Myra said in a sweet voice. However, she didn't seem to hear her, her eyes fixed on the wall ahead of her. Sighing, Myra went and crouched in front of the lost woman, and took her hands in her own.

"Mother" She said again, and the woman's eyes quickly glanced towards her in recognition. She took this as a sign to move on.

"I'm going out to a friend's house tonight, I'll be back by morning" Her mother gave a slight nod, all the while her eyes still fixed in front of her.

Myra sighed again and got up, making her way to the door.

As she opened it she could see that the light from day had all but disappeared. The warm air surrounded her, and she could hear the crickets beginning their nightly symphony. She softly closed the door behind her, and stepped out with her bare feet onto the grass that surrounded the hut, and headed to her left to make her way through the village and to the tree line. As she stepped into the shadows on the side of her house, she was met with a surprise.

She felt a pair of hands roughly grab her and pull her further into the shadows on the side of her house. A cold metal was pressed to her neck, and a low voice resounded behind her.

"Don't scream or move, unless you want a slit throat" Myra trembled in fear, but slowly nodded in understanding.

"Now, is your name Myra?"

**A/N This chapter sets up the next one, so sorry if it was a little dry. The next one will be more interesting though! Once again, please review with comments, concerns, and critiques! :3**


	13. Machete

As the last rays of the sun were disappearing behind the tree line, Lahnia wrung her hands nervously. She was hidden among the branches of an oak tree, high above the ground with her feet dangling over the edge of the large branch that she was situated on. Throughout the day she had been there, not wanting to wander too much as she waited for her sister in fear of being found, either by demon or elf. So she had a lot of time to think.

She had wondered constantly if this was the right decision. She knew she had to leave the village for good to protect them, but it was selfish for her to want to see her sister again. However, she would have to live with her decision because it was already set in motion. So she just sighed and waited, as she had all day.

The moon was well centered in the starlit sky by the time Lahnia heard the rustlings of bushes that could only be made by a large animal. Excitement swelled within Lahnias heart, with the months of hopelessness gone she is about to see her beloved Myra again! She peered through the branches of the tree she was residing in, having a clear view of the clearing before the great tree that Lahnia usually met her. And finally, a person stepped from the underbrush of the forest, her sister! But, wait, there was someone behind her.

Oh no.

"Plazo" Lahnia whispered in absolute horror. He held a blade to Myra's throat, and even from this distance she could see the tear stained face of her terrified sister.

How could she have done this? She was so stupid to involve her sister like this. Of course they would check the village, but how would they have known her sister? Much less, that she was going to meet Lahnia? No matter the reason, she had to deal with this, to get her sister to safety.

Once the two were centered in the clearing, Plazo began to speak.

"Lahnia!" He shouted, glancing all around to try to see where she hid.

"I know you are here! Come out, I have your sister!" Lahnia peered at his determined face from her perch, and took a deep breath, steadying her will. She dropped down from the branch, her feet digging into the cold mossy forest floor.

Plazo swung his head towards her at the sound, and steadied his gaze at her as she walked through the tall grass closer to the two.

"Release her" Lahnia demanded, her feet now planted firmly before them and her eyes held a steady yet powerful gaze. Plazo shuddered from her stare, he hadn't seen this much fury in her before. He could still feel Myra trembling under his arm as he held the blade steady at her neck, reminding him of the position he was situated in. He stood his ground.

"It is a simple trade, you for her"

Lahnias eyes tightened, and she spat out:

"And I can trust you to release her if I do?" Plazo was taken aback.

"Of course, I am of my word, you know that"

Lahnia scoffed.

"Says the person who holds a knife to my sisters throat" She spat back venomously, anger dwelling in her eyes.

Plazo was taken aback, hurt at her harsh words. After all, he had to do this. There was no other way. Before he could voice that fact, however, she spoke up again.

"I agree to the trade, so release my sister" With that, Lahnia began walking up to them. Hesitantly, Plazo removed the blade from Myra's throat and the small girl, still shaking from fear, quickly ran from him into Lahnias arms. They hugged for a few bittersweet moments, before Lahnia kissed her forehead and whispered an order to run. She then released her, Myra dashing off to the tree line.

She turned and faced Plazo, who eyed her suspiciously for any movements. Cautiously, he walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder beginning to lead her back.

As soon as his blue heavy hand went on her shoulder, a flash of memories came swelling back to Lahnia. This was it, she would have to go back to the demon camp. To the repressed life. To the terror of living under Lord Ghirahims rule. To loneliness. These feelings overwhelmed and panicked her.

_I can't do this_ she thought to herself.

_I can't go back! _With a surge of desperation and the power that resulted she quickly ducked down from Plazos hand, and as he looked down at her with surprise she sprung back up, her fist hitting him squarely in the jaw. Lahnia wasn't sure if it was for the suddenness of the attack or the momentum, but Plazo fell back to the ground, stunned. Before he could react she started sprinting for the tree line, shaking out her sore hand.

She heard Plazo begin to chase after her, too quickly. She glanced back, surprised to see him already gaining on her.

_How can a bokoblin run that fast?! _Of course, Plazo had speed rather than strength.

Suddenly, she felt a weight on her back, and she was pushed into the ground. She wrestled around viciously for a few moments and found herself turned around so she was on her back, with Plazo's body hovering over her. She felt her wrists being pinned to the ground next to her head by his hands, and when she started kicking he used his ankles over them to pin them down. She looked up snarling at Plazos face, he was breathing hard, trying to regain his breath from the sprint.

"Why can't you just let me go?! I don't belong there!" She yelled in Plazos face. She felt herself on the brink of tears, the panic and terror getting to her as she felt the warm liquid start to slide from her eyes. However, his eyebrows knotted together and eyes stiffened with anger. He practically snarled in Lahnias face, their eyes in a death lock only inches from each other.

"And you think I do? I have to do this! I have no choice in this!" She tightened her lips in defiant anger, and was about to speak when out of the corner of her eyes she spotted Myra at the edge of the field, watching them with wide, horrified eyes. She should be long gone by now! Why was she back? Plazo, not noticing her, went on.

"You don't understand, I would have wanted to let you go. But I can't." Lahnia watched through Plazos arms as Myra crept over to where the two stood before, and her eyes widened as she saw a flash of metal. Myra had picked up the machete that Plazo had dropped as he ran after Lahnia.

"If I don't get you back to the camp, he will find and kill you. He will find and kill the both of us." Her eyes snapped to Plazos, whose face was now pleading, defeat and desperation etched in his features. She was shocked at what she heard. The Demon Lord would kill Plazo? For her actions? She was fine taking responsibility for her escape when the consequences were her own, but to involve Plazo? He was an innocent bystander, he shouldn't suffer for her actions!

As she was thinking this Plazo was still talking, but she heard no more. She focused her eyes behind Plazo once again and with shock saw her sister closer than before. She stood directly behind Plazo, without his notice. The machete was raised above her head, the sharp blade glinting in the moonlight, as if it was a precious gem instead of a deadly weapon. It was poised right over Plazo's back. With desperation clear in Myra's face, she tightly shut her eyes and began to swing downwards.

Lahnia panicked.

"Myra, NO!"

**A/N A wild new chapter appears! Out of the boredom from winter break, I thought I might continue this quest once again. **

**What do you think? Comments are wonderful gifts that I cherish and hold dear to my heart, so any comments, critiques, or speculations are more than welcome! Thank you for reading!**


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